Undiscovered
by Bop2theTop
Summary: Troy and Gabriella are friends. Nothing more.Troy has loved her for years but Gabriella has yet to discover that her feelings for Troy run deeper. But will the arrival of a new guy in school mess everything up completely and push Troy and Gabriella apart?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Chapter 1**

Troy Bolton parked his red truck in the driveway and turned in his seat to face the girl sitting beside him. He took a deep breath and looked at her.

"I was thinking...that...we've had a great time these past three weeks," he started, unsure of how to continue, "but I think that this isn't really working for me," he finished. He looked at the girl in front on him and waited for her reaction. For a few minutes she sat still, taking in what he had just said to her. Then suddenly her eyes widened as her mouth dropped.

"You what? Are you breaking up with me?" she questioned, half yelling. Troy winced and shrugged.

"Well I wouldn't put it that way but I guess...yeah," he replied. The girl screamed and started fanning her face with her perfectly manicured hands, taking in deep breaths. Troy reached over to try to calm her down but was swatted away while she screamed.

"Troy Bolton you are nothing but an idiot. You will regret this. Go back to your little Montez girl. You're that desperate I'm sure you will," the girl replied, before getting out of the truck and slamming the door. Troy watched as she walked into her house in a huff, slamming the door.

Troy sighed and began to drive home. That was another girl he had broken up with. Her name was Stacey Roberts. She was captain of the cheerleading squad and really Troy had only agreed to go out with her because his friend, Chad Danforth, had set him up for a date with her. Troy, being a gentleman and a pushover sometimes, agreed to go. But what started out as a friendly, one off date, in Troy's eyes soon turned into three weeks of hell for him.

Stacey immediately assumed that because they had been on one date that they were 'an item'. The following Monday Troy had arrived into school to hear people talking about the latest couple; Troy and Stacey. Troy tried many times over the three weeks to break up with her but had failed. Eventually he couldn't take it anymore.

When Stacey had insulted his best friend Troy knew it was time to end it. As hard as it may be, Troy didn't care what everyone else thought- especially not the cheerleading squad who basically stalked him everyday in school. Now maybe the stalking would stop after breaking the heart of their leader; Stacey. Troy could only hope this would happen.

Although he was the most popular guy in the school and captain of the basketball team Troy was really uncomfortable with the attention he received daily from his fellow students. Most viewed him as some kind of God that they should worship. Troy didn't understand why and wished that the attention would go away. He much preferred to just blend in but now that was impossible for him.

Troy sighed. The only time he felt like he could truly be himself and not have to care what others thought was when he was around his best friend; Gabriella Montez, the same best friend who he had dumped his girlfriend because of. Stacey had become very jealous of Troy's close relationship with Gabriella and had tried to stop him seeing her, though Gabriella didn't know about this. Troy didn't want to tell her in case it upset her. That was the last thing he ever wanted to do. He hated to see Gabriella upset. It tore him apart inside, especially when there was nothing he could do to make her feel better.

Gabriella and Troy had been best friends since they were babies because their parents were best friends. Growing up Gabriella and Troy had never grown apart, although they did go through a stage in middle school where they fought for a month and didn't speak to each other. After a whole month of not speaking to Gabriella, Troy gave in and finally spoke to her, much to her delight.

Troy smiled as he remembered how happy Gabriella had been when he finally spoke to her, ending the silly feud that started over something stupid that he couldn't even remember.

That was the year that Troy Bolton fell in love with Gabriella Montez. Since then he had dreamed of being with no one else but her. He loved everything about her. He loved how her long brown curls cascaded down her back. He loved how she always cuddled up to him whenever they watched a movie. He loved how listening to her laugh would always cause him to smile. But most of all he loved the feeling that he got whenever he was around her, though it scared him too.

Troy could never tell Gabriella how he felt. He knew she didn't feel the same and if he did confess his true feelings then their relationship would be ruined and Troy didn't want that. At least this way he got to spend time with Gabriella. No matter how hard he tried though he still couldn't get over her.

The reason none of his relationships had lasted was because of Gabriella. Well it wasn't her fault that Troy basically ate, slept and breathed her but this had caused him to break up with each girl because he felt he was being unfair to them.

Gabriella always teased him about his girlfriends because he always ended up breaking it off after a couple of weeks. Each time he did he gave Gabriella different excuses which just led her to believe that he was overly picky when it came to girls, which in one sense was true. He always compared them to Gabriella and in his eyes they could never match up. Gabriella wasn't aware of this of course and simply thought that Troy just didn't feel a connection with any of the girls which was only half the reason.

Troy pulled into his driveway and ran upstairs to his room. He threw his keys on his desk and flung his denim jacket on the back of his chair. He flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, falling asleep, thinking about Gabriella.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Gabriella Montez pulled up outside Troy's house in her car. She walked up to the front door and knocked twice, waiting patiently for someone to open it. After a couple of minutes Troy's mother appeared at the door.

"Gabi, how are you?" she asked, reaching out and giving the young brunette a hug, "Troy is up in his room," she said. Gabriella nodded gratefully and headed up the stairs to Troy's room. She smiled when she arrived at his door, covered in basketball posters.

Gabriella loved Troy dearly and was really close to him. What she didn't realise that what she felt for him was more than just friendship love or brotherly love as she liked to call it. She was actually in love with Troy. Gabriella refused to believe her friend Taylor when she said this. Gabriella thought it was a crazy idea. She couldn't love Troy and she was convinced that she didn't.

Gabriella opened the door and smiled to herself when she saw him asleep on his bed. She closed the door quietly and crept across the room to the bed. She stifled a giggle and watched him for a few minutes.

He was lying flat on his back, stretched out on his bed. She watched his chest rise and fall and the peaceful look on his face. Even when he was sleeping Troy still managed to look so cute. His hair fell slightly into his eyes. Gabriella liked his new hair cut- slightly shorter and neater, it really suited him. Suddenly a small smile appeared on his face and Gabriella wondered what he was dreaming about.

Eventually she decided it was time to wake him up. Gabriella jumped onto the bed beside Troy, giggling as Troy immediately sat straight up in shock. He whipped his head around to see Gabriella sitting on his bed, cracking up with laughter. Troy rubbed his eyes and began to wake up properly.

"Well hello to you too Montez," he said sarcastically. Gabriella laughed.

"Sorry I just couldn't resist- you looked so peaceful," She admitted.

Troy nodded, "And peaceful I was until you scared me," he said.

Gabriella pouted at him, as if asking for forgiveness. Troy rolled his eyes and turned to face her. Gabriella smiled shyly. Troy suddenly lunged forward and landed on top of her. He began tickling her all over causing Gabriella to laugh out loud.

"Troy...I...can't...breathe...," she giggled.

Troy shook his head, "No not until you apologise Montez," he said as he continued tickling her.

Gabriella tried to escape but Troy was sitting on top of her legs, trapping her.

"Never," she managed to choke out between laughs.

"Fine then say 'Troy Bolton is the hottest and bestest friend in the whole entire world'," Troy said.

Gabriella stayed silent for a few minutes but then eventually caved.

"Fine...Troy Bolton...is the...hottest and...bestest friend in the...whole entire world," she squealed. Troy smiled and withdrew his hands from her but stayed sitting on her legs, watching her. He watched the way she closed her eyes, while trying to catch her breath. He smiled when he saw her cheeks were pink from all the laughing. Suddenly he noticed a piece of hair in her eye. She lifted her hand to move it but Troy got there first. He softly took the piece of hair and pushed it back from her face behind her ear. Gabriella smiled and stared up into Troy's sea blue eyes that she loved to get lost in.

The two continued to stare at each other for a few minutes until Troy finally snapped back to reality. He pushed himself off of Gabriella's legs and stood up, brushing himself off. Gabriella lay still on the bed, suddenly missing the feeling of him touching her, though she didn't know why. She never felt like that before. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind as Troy reached out his hand to grab hers and pull her up.

"Come on Gabi, let's go get something to eat," Troy said as he pulled her out of the room with him.

Gabriella smiled and followed contentedly, glad that his skin was brushing against hers again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

"So how is everything with you and Stacey?" Gabriella asked, taking a bite from her cheese burger. Troy shrugged and took a sip of his milkshake.

"Okay...so what does that shrug mean? Yeah everything's good. Or no we're not doing so good?" Gabriella questioned.

"Well neither now because I broke up with her," Troy said, taking a handful of French fries from Gabriella's plate onto his own. Gabriella's mouth opened and her eyes widened.

"Troy...what was it this time?" she asked.

"I don't know...I just didn't feel it," he said, truthfully.

Gabriella frowned, "But Troy...you went out with her for what three weeks. You can't expect to fall in love that easy," Gabriella stated, stealing back some of her fries.

Troy stopped eating and looked at her, "So you're telling me you don't believe in love at first sight?" he asked, watching her closely.

Gabriella continued playing with her food as she responded, "No I don't think I do. I mean it's never happened to me so why should I believe then. I think you learn to love someone after spending time with them. I mean isn't love at first sight basically based on looks alone?" she asked, biting on a French fry.

Troy shook his head, "No not necessarily," he replied.

"Okay so then you're telling me that you see this girl and you immediately fall in love with her...it's love at first sight. You start going out but then you see she's a horrible person but you still love her?" Gabriella questioned, "I think not," she scoffed.

"Oh ye of little faith," Troy said, rolling his eyes.

Gabriella giggled and continued eating. Troy watched her and made a mental note of every movement she made and the way she looked when she was lost in her own thoughts. Her brown curls tumbled over her shoulders. He loved how she didn't cover herself in make up. In fact he wasn't even sure if she wore any. Gabriella looked naturally stunning and didn't need make up to enhance her features. Troy loved how she didn't obsess over her appearance like every other girl in the school. She really was different and that's why he loved her.

"Uh Troy...is there something on my face?" Gabriella questioned, waving her hand in front of his face to get his attention. Troy immediately snapped out of his daydream and blushed when he realized that Gabriella had caught him staring like she does most days, though never says anything about it.

"Um no...you're perfect," Troy said sincerely. Gabriella smiled and reached into her bag for her purse.

"What are you doing?" Troy asked.

"Getting my money out, I think this is one of those restaurants where you have to pay," she joked as she opened her purse. Troy reached across the table and held her hand down.

"I got this," he said, standing up to go to the cashier.

"No way Troy, honestly let me pay," Gabriella said.

Troy shook his head, "Gabi, this was my treat. I brought you out now be quiet and take advantage of it," he said, laughing.

Gabriella giggled and sat down and felt Troy's hand leave hers. She sighed contentedly and watched as he paid the bill and left a generous tip like a perfect gentlemen. She smiled and followed him outside to the car. She was lucky to have a friend like him.

* * *

Hey guys! Okay so this is my new story. Originally it was a oneshot but I decided to change it into a story. I'm going to post the oneshot too because it's got lots of Troyella fluff which I know some of you guys love. The oneshot is called 'Just Friends?' and it starts out excatly like the beginning of this chapter but it ends very differently. I decided to post this to see what you guys think. For some reason I'm very wary about posting it...I really hope you guys like it...Should I continue? I have two or three more chapters written so tell me if you guys want more. Thanks for reading! And don't forget to check out 'Just Friends?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Monday rolled around and Troy entered East High to the usual sounds of cheers from fellow students. He walked quickly through the entrance hall and towards his locker. He opened his locker and searched around for a Biology book. After five minutes of poking through the pile of books and papers stuffed into his locker Troy eventually pulled out his Biology book.

Suddenly he felt someone place their hands over his eyes as everything went black.

"Guess who," the person said cheerfully. Troy smiled and reached up to grab the hands.

"Um...Chad?" he guessed, playfully. He turned around to see Gabriella looking at him and smirking. He felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw how beautiful she looked. She was wearing a pair of white Capri pants, a peach camisole and a white short sleeve V-neck shirt over it. Her hair was pulled into a side ponytail and she wore a small amount of blush on her cheeks.

Troy suddenly realised that he was still holding her hands and quickly let go, trying to hide his embarrassment. Gabriella smiled, "Thanks for dinner again on Saturday," she said.

Troy shook his head, "Hey it was my pleasure," he replied truthfully. He thought maybe he had had too much fun with Gabriella on Saturday night because ever since then he had been thinking about her even more.

"Well are you walking to Homeroom?" she questioned. Troy nodded and followed her down the corridor.

"So...how's the girl search going?" Gabriella asked. Troy frowned and turned to her, "Girl search?" he questioned.

"Well aren't you looking for another girlfriend?" Gabriella stated. Troy immediately shook his head and laughed.

"No way. This time I'm waiting for the perfect girl," he replied, smiling confidently.

"And how do you know who'll be the perfect girl? You don't just know these things. You have to go out with someone first to see if they're your perfect guy or girl. You can't just expect to find your perfect guy or girl when you least expect it," Gabriella stated, shaking her head at his statement.

"Well Gabriella I believe that I can tell if a girl is my dream girl or not straight away so you just let me worry about that," Troy said, poking her as they walked in their homeroom door.

Gabriella rolled her eyes and sat into her seat, "Whatever you say Troy."

Troy smirked and took his seat just as Ms. Darbus walked in, followed by a boy Troy had never seen before.

The boy was tall, about 5'11, with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. He was well built and looked quite athletic.

"Alright everyone; this is our new student who had transferred all the way from New Jersey. His name is Jake Wilder," Ms. Darbus announced before turning to Jake, "Okay Jake if you would kindly take a seat beside Miss Montez please. Montez, raise your hand," Ms. Darbus said.

Gabriella quickly raised her hand and shifted uncomfortably as Jake sat down beside her. Gabriella watched him from the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but notice how cute he was with his shaggy hair and striking green eyes. Suddenly Gabriella realised that homeroom was over. She quickly stood up and began to walk out of the room when she felt someone tap her shoulder. She spun around to come face to face with Jake.

"Hi, I'm Jake," he said, smiling at her and extending out his hand.

"I'm Gabriella," Gabriella replied shaking his hand.

"Pleased to meet you," Jake said.

"So what class do you have now?" Gabriella asked, seeing if she could help him out in any way.

"Um...biology with Ms. Henry," he replied, looking at the sheet in his hand.

Gabriella smiled, "Just like me. I'll walk with you if you want," she offered and Jake gratefully accepted.

Troy watched as Gabriella left the classroom with the new kid, Jake and couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed that she didn't walk to biology with him.

"Troy you going to biology dude?" Chad asked, snapping Troy out of his thoughts. Troy nodded silently and began to walk with Chad, not listening to him ramble on about his weekend date with Taylor, one of Gabriella's best friends. Sometimes Troy wished Chad would just shut up, especially when he was thinking about Gabriella.

Troy sighed when they arrived at the classroom and saw Gabriella sitting down beside Jake. Troy frowned when he saw she was deep in conversation with him. Suddenly Jake said something and Gabriella began to laugh loudly. Troy scowled and sunk into his seat. Why was Gabriella being so nice to this new guy?

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Troy closed his locker and began to walk quickly to Gabriella's locker, hoping to catch up with her before she went home. He hadn't seen her all day, despite having tried to find her at lunch. She seemed to have just disappeared.

Troy breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Gabriella standing at her locker but his smile quickly turned into a frown as he saw her talking to the new guy, Jake. Troy watched the two interact from a safe distance where Gabriella wouldn't notice him. He clenched his fists as Gabriella leaned over and quickly hugged Jake before he walked away.

Troy took a deep breath and walked up to Gabriella. "Hey Gabi," he said, trying to act calm.

Gabriella turned her attention away from her locker to glance briefly at Troy and then turned her attention back again, "Oh hey Troy," she replied, absent minded. Troy watched her organise her locker for a few minutes before deciding to ask her where she had been for lunch period.

"So I missed you at lunch...where did you go?" Troy asked casually, leaning against the locker beside hers.

Gabriella frowned as she realised that everything didn't fit in her locker and bit her lip, "Um...lunch? Oh I was with Jake," she replied.

Troy felt his heart stop and it became hard to breathe, "Y-you were with Jake?" he questioned, his voice slightly shaky though Gabriella didn't seem to notice.

Gabriella nodded and replied, "Yeah I figured I'd show him around the school. It can be kind of confusing at first," she said, closing her locker, satisfied that it was tidy. She grabbed her bag off the floor and began walking towards the exit, expecting Troy to follow.

Troy quickly walked after her, still in shock about her spending her whole lunch period looking after the new guy.

"Oh right...," he said, trailing off.

"Something wrong?" Gabriella asked, looking at him.

Troy quickly shook his head, "Not a thing. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out tonight?" he asked.

Gabriella smiled and nodded, "Sure. My mom's out of town for the week so why don't you come over? It gets kind of lonely. We can order pizza and watch a movie or something," she suggested.

Troy nodded and smiled; glad that he was getting to spend some alone time with Gabriella.

"Great. So I'll call over at about 5:30. Is that okay?" he asked.

"Great. See you then," Gabriella said, leaning over and wrapping her arms around Troy's neck and pulling him into a light hug. Troy immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her much closer so there was no space in between their bodies.

"Wow Troy. Are you sure you're okay?" Gabriella asked, pulling away and half laughing, "I nearly couldn't breathe," she joked but Troy didn't laugh. Instead he turned a shade of red and had to force a laugh.

"I'm fine. See you later," he said and quickly walked away from Gabriella, kicking himself for getting so carried away.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

At 5:30 Troy knocked on Gabriella's door and waited for her to answer. After a couple of minutes he heard her walking down the stairs and laughing and talking.

_She must be talking to Taylor or Sharpay._

She opened the door and smiled briefly and ushered him in. Troy closed the door behind him and stood watching her talk on the phone for a few seconds.

"Sorry but I have to go. I'll talk to you tomorrow ok? Night," she said cheerfully and hung up the phone. "Sorry about that Troy," Gabriella apologised. Troy shook his head.

"Don't worry about it I know how chatty Taylor can be," he said as he followed her into the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs. Gabriella rooted around in the fridge for a can of Coke.

"Oh that wasn't Taylor...it was Jake," Gabriella replied, handing Troy a can.

Troy's knuckles turned white as all the blood drained from his face at the mention of Jake's name. He had only been at school a day and already he was calling Gabriella on her house phone. Gabriella watched Troy and saw the angry look on his face.

"Troy what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

Troy shook his head, "I'm just hungry," he replied through gritted teeth. Gabriella nodded and picked up the phone once more to order the pizza. Troy sat and stared off into space, feeling uneasy about Gabriella's new friendship with Jake.

"So then I got detention for being late, even though my dad told her he wanted to speak to me for a bit," Troy said, sighing and reaching for another slice of pizza. Gabriella giggled as she listened to Troy's story. She felt sorry for him as Ms. Darbus always had it in for him because she doesn't get along with his father.

"So you seem to be quite friendly with the new guy," Troy said, trying to sound as casual as possible.

Gabriella nodded and poured herself another drink of juice, "Yeah. He's really nice Troy. He's into all the same things I am," she said.

"Like?" Troy pressed on.

"Like...chemistry. He says at his old school he won the scholastic decathlon. He's also really good at math and he loves reading. It's so great to find someone who has the same interests as you," Gabriella gushed.

"But don't you like to talk about other stuff too?" Troy asked, becoming very self conscious. He didn't really like chemistry or math because he wasn't good at those subjects so that immediately ruled out his chances of winning a scholastic decathlon. As for reading, Troy was also too busy training to sit at home and read, but he didn't really mind; it wasn't his thing. Suddenly he became afraid that Gabriella would get tired of hanging around with someone who had different interests to her. Maybe Jake would be his replacement.

"Well yeah of course. But it's nice to talk about stuff I'm really interested in too," she said. Troy swallowed a bite of pizza and tried hard not to choke as his mouth suddenly became very, very dry. He stared at the pizza box in front of him, trying to think of a way to almost impress Gabriella.

She seemed really impressed that Jake had driven his team to win the scholastic decathlon in his previous school, something which Gabriella herself had also done. She was also impressed at how smart Jake was. He read a lot and was good at math and chemistry, Troy's worst two subjects. It really did seem like Jake was Gabriella's perfect match. And to make matters even worse Gabriella seemed to really like him. He had only been at the school a day and already they were talking on the phone after school, something which Troy and Gabriella did a lot. But now maybe she wouldn't want to talk on the phone as much because she'd have Jake to discuss chemistry and math with.

"Um Troy are you okay? I mean, your face is really pale," Gabriella asked, snapping him out of his own thoughts.

Troy nodded quickly and stood up, "I better get home. I have a lot of homework," he said, making his way towards the front door. Gabriella followed him, slightly confused as to why he suddenly decided he had to go.

"But don't you need help with your math homework? Trigonometry isn't your strongest point as you said yourself," Gabriella said, smiling at him.

However Troy did not find this funny considering his current mood.

"Well you know Math isn't my strongest point. But I can always just read the book. I mean it's good to read so that's what I'll do. I have to learn to do something on my own," he said, grabbing his bag from the front of the stairs and opening the door.

Gabriella frowned in confusion as he stepped outside the door, still rambling on about doing homework.

"See you later Gabi. Thanks for the pizza," Troy said as he walked down the path. Gabriella waved and shut the door. She leaned back against it and tried to figure out what was wrong with Troy. After a few minutes of thinking she decided to give up as she could feel a headache coming on. She sighed and went upstairs to her bedroom to start her homework.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Gabriella sighed with relief as she saw Troy standing at his locker the next morning. She really wanted to talk to him to see if he was okay after he basically ran out of her house last night.

"Hey Troy," she said, cheerfully. Troy turned to her and smiled, "Hey Gabi."

Gabriella waited for a few minutes watching Troy pull books out of his locker. Eventually she couldn't take it anymore and just had to ask him about last night.

"Troy what happened last night?" she questioned.

Troy looked at her and sighed, "Look I was just feeling a bit off. I was in a bad mood. If I had stayed I would have taken it out on you. I'm sorry," Troy said, closing his locker and turning to face Gabriella.

"Oh...I thought that...," Gabriella started but quickly shook her head and smiled.

"You thought what?" Troy asked.

"Um...nothing," Gabriella lied, regretting she had said anything. The truth was she thought Troy may have been a little bit jealous of Jake but she had quickly rid her mind of that thought.

"Gabi come on tell me," Troy begged.

"Well I thought that maybe you were a bit jealous of Jake," she mumbled, turning a bright shade of red.

Troy's eyes widened though Gabriella didn't see as she was too busy staring at the floor. Quickly he forced out a laugh, "Jake; as in the new guy? Oh come on Gabi, why would I be jealous of him?" Troy asked, lying through his teeth.

Gabriella nodded, "Yeah I know. It was just me being paranoid. What would you have to worry about?" she said, trying to laugh, though for some reason she didn't find what Troy had said funny. When he said that he wasn't jealous, Gabriella felt her heart drop slightly but she ignored this. Why would Troy be jealous? Jake was just another friend after all.

"So are you walk-," Troy started but was quickly interrupted by Jake.

Jake tapped Gabriella on the shoulder and she spun around to face him. Troy felt his jaw tighten as he saw the look on Gabriella's face as she saw Jake.

"Jake!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. Jake smiled and slid his hands around her waist, pulling her very close to him. Troy watched with jealously as they clung to each other. After what seemed like an eternity Gabriella pulled back and quickly introduced Troy and Jake.

"Jake this is Troy, my friend," Gabriella said, "Troy this is Jake that I was telling you about."

Troy nodded and grabbed Jake's hand, "Good to meet you," he said sternly. Jake nodded in agreement and looked at Gabriella.

"You walking to homeroom Gabriella?" he asked. Gabriella looked at Troy and nodded.

"Yeah let's go, see you Troy," she said. Troy stood and watched them walk towards homeroom in complete shock. He had just been about to ask Gabriella to walk with him when Jake had interrupted. Now she was suddenly leaving him. He frowned when he saw Jake rest his arm around Gabriella's shoulders. Troy clenched his fist and whacked it off his locker, startling passers by.

"Dude what happened?" his best friend Chad Danforth asked, looking alarmed by Troy's sudden outburst.

Troy didn't reply and just kept staring after Jake and Gabriella walking down the corridor. Chad followed his gaze and immediately saw what Troy was looking at.

"Dude chill. They're just friends. He's been here a day and already you're panicking. It's not like he's asked her out yet so just stay calm," Chad said, slapping Troy on the back.

Troy nodded, knowing Chad was right. He knew he would have to accept the fact that Jake and Gabriella were friends. But if they ever went out he knew he would never accept that and that's why he had to make sure they didn't somehow. He sighed and could feel another headache coming on.

He began walking to homeroom with Chad following closely, wondering what to say to make Troy feel better.

* * *

Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for me to update! I hope people are actually reading this story...please review! I love seeing what you guys think. I'll post another chapter now and update within the next week. Thanks! 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: **

"So do you see why that equals 9?" Gabriella asked, pointing to the equation in the book sitting in front of her and Troy. Troy frowned slightly and looked at the book and the piece of paper Gabriella was after writing on.

"Didn't you say like two minutes ago that it was equal to 10, not 9?" Troy questioned. Gabriella looked quickly at her work and the book and nodded slowly.

"Sorry the answer is 10," she said, sheepishly. Troy nodded and grinned.

"Something up?" he asked, putting his pencil down and leaning back in the chair. They were both sitting in the school library where Gabriella was helping Troy with his algebra homework. By now this had become routine to them. Gabriella was really the one who taught him his algebra, not his teacher, Mr Greene, who, according to Troy, made algebra the most boring subject in the world.

Gabriella always grinned when she heard this. Troy said that the way she said it made it easier to understand even though she only read it out of the book and gave him a few pointers here and there. It was a mystery to her why Troy found it easy to learn with her but tough to learn with a qualified algebra teacher. Gabriella often asked Troy this question but Troy would always quickly say that she had her own special way of saying it and then quickly change the subject.

But Gabriella didn't really know was that the reason Troy learned from her was because he hung on her every word. He listened to absolutely everything she said whereas in class he often drifted in and out, between his daydreams of taking Gabriella out on a date. It also gave Troy the perfect opportunity to stare at her without needing a reason because he could just say he was listening to what she was saying.

Gabriella shook her head and sat back in her chair. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back to look up at the ceiling.

"Well something must be up. That's the second equation today that you've gotten confused on. Scratch that; the second equation that you've ever gotten confused on. So I'd say something is definitely up Montez," Troy said, looking at her knowingly.

Gabriella blushed and looked down at her hands, "I don't think you'd want to know or really care Troy," she said. Troy frowned. Why did she think he didn't care? Of course her cared. Even if it was the stupidest thing in the world Troy would care purely because it was Gabriella.

"Try me Montez," he said, winking at her. Gabriella nodded and continued looking at her hands.

"Well there's this guy I like," she started. Troy felt his heart begin to beat a million times faster. "And I think he likes me. I mean, I don't know. But he's been dropping little hints and it's kind of obvious but then sometimes I wonder if I'm just imagining it. I mean what if he doesn't like me?" she said.

Troy looked at her. Maybe, just maybe she was speaking of him. He dropped hints all the time. Maybe she had eventually picked up on them. As if staring at her all the time and getting caught wasn't hint enough. "Well talk to him. Tell him how you feel."

"But I'm scared I read the signs wrong and I don't want the friendship to be messed up," Gabriella said, sighing.

Troy took her hand in his and looked into her eyes, "Gabriella if he's a friend at all he'll stick by you anyway. But apart from that I'm convinced that this guy does like you. I mean what's not to like? You're beautiful, smart, funny, kind, giving and the greatest person I've ever met. So I say go for it with your friend," Troy said, squeezing her hand reassuringly. Gabriella smiled and nodded slowly.

"Thanks Troy."

"No problem. So who's the lucky guy?" he asked, as his heart began to leap out of his chest. Was this the moment he had waited for for so long?

"Um...it's..." Gabriella started, looking at her hands again. Troy waited patiently for her to continue, longing for her to say his name.

"It's the new guy...Jake," she said, quietly. Troy's heart suddenly froze and he felt like his head was spinning. He quickly let go of her hand and moved away from her. He could feel his heart aching and he suddenly felt like he needed to be sick. This was too much. He couldn't believe it was Jake she had been speaking of. Troy stood up, ignoring Gabriella's confused face.

"I...uh...gotta go home. Thanks for the tutoring. See you later," he mumbled as he quickly gathered all his books and nearly sprinted out of the library. Gabriella sat at the table, wondering what she had done wrong once again.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Gabriella sat on her bed later that evening, listening to her iPod and thinking. She wondered if what she was feeling for Jake was true. He had only been at their school a month but in that month Gabriella and he had become really good friends. Gabriella shook her head. How could she possibly have fallen for a guy in a month? It just didn't seem like something she'd do. Gabriella sighed and closed her eyes, annoyed that she had just confused herself more.

The song on her iPod changed and her eyes snapped open as she heard the familiar opening of 'Still There For Me' by Corbin Bleu. Gabriella smiled and her thoughts immediately turned to Troy.

_Gabriella reached across to her bedside locker and grabbed her phone. She looked at the caller id and smiled before answering it._

"_Hello?" _

"_Hey Brie," Troy greeted._

"_What's up?" she asked, sitting cross legged on her bed._

"_Nothing much. I was just wondering what you were up too?" he asked, casually and Gabriella could almost swear that he was grinning to himself for some reason._

"_You were wondering what I was doing at 10:30 at night? Gosh Troy, you really are obsessed with me," she joked._

"_Oh you know it," he forced a laugh, wondering if Gabriella knew how true her statement was._

"_Well I'm just listening to some new cd's I bought today," she said, picking up one of the cd cases on her bed and examining it. _

"_What did you buy?" Troy asked._

"_Um...Snow Patrol, Aly and AJ and Corbin Bleu," she replied, placing the cd back on the bed again and waiting for his reply._

_Troy groaned, "Brie come on. Aly and AJ? Corbin Bleu? At least Snow Patrol are good," Troy said._

_Gabriella rolled her eyes, "Troy I bet you have never even heard a Corbin Bleu song in your life."_

_She smiled and waited for his reply, knowing that she was correct._

"_So...I know that he's not music that I'd like," Troy replied._

_Gabriella shook her head, "Well good thing you don't have to listen to him then. I'll talk to you later," she said._

"_Wait! Why are you going?" he asked, desperately hoping she would change her mind and talk to him for longer._

"_Because I wanna listen to the rest of Corbin's album...I'm only on track 6!" she said, smiling to herself, knowing that Troy wanted to talk for longer._

"_Oh okay then. But remember Corbin won't be at the Scholastic Decathlon next week to cheer you on," Troy said grumpily. _

_Gabriella laughed, "No but he's here right now. Bye Troy," she giggled and hung up._

_She lay back on her bed and turned to face her stereo and listened to the music. Ten minutes later she felt someone climb onto her bed with her. Gabriella sat up quickly and turned to find Troy lying beside her smiling. Gabriella sighed in relief. She didn't realise that Troy would be climbing up her balcony tonight._

"_Hey Brie," he whispered._

"_Troy you scared me. I didn't think you were coming over," she said, looking at him._

_Troy shrugged and lay on his back, "I figured I'd listen to this Corbin Bleu and see if I like it since you seem to like him so much," he replied._

_Gabriella smiled and returned to her previous position with her back to Troy. They fell silent and listened as the song 'Mixed Up' drew to a close. The next song began playing and Gabriella smiled as she listened to the lyrics._

_Suddenly she felt Troy move and she gasped silently as she felt him press up against her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Gabriella smiled at his touch. She always felt so safe in his arms. She felt like no one could harm her once Troy was near and she liked the feeling._

"_What's this song called?" Troy whispered into her ear. Gabriella shivered as she felt Troy's hot breath on her ear and neck. She struggled to find her voice._

"_Um...'Still There For Me'," she replied quietly. _

"_Because I like it," he replied, whispering once again, causing the hairs on Gabriella's neck to stand up, though she didn't know why._

"_You like it?" she asked in disbelief, whispering also._

"_Yeah. I think it should be our song," Troy said. Gabriella's eyes widened and she felt her heart begin to beat a million times faster._

"_Our song?" she managed to choke out._

"_Yeah. I mean you are always there for me and I'm always here for you...it makes perfect sense," Troy said._

_Gabriella thought about this for a moment and realised Troy was right. "I think you're right for once Bolton," she said, teasing him._

_Troy groaned, "If I wasn't so comfortable Montez, you would be paying for that right now," he mumbled, into her hair. Gabriella giggled lightly and Troy pulled her closer. Gabriella rested her hands on top of his which lay on her stomach and closed her eyes as did Troy. Within minutes they were both asleep in each others arms._

Gabriella smiled at the memory. Others may have found it weird that she and Troy had a song considering they weren't a couple but Gabriella didn't care. That song really did relate to them. Suddenly she remembered Troy's weird behaviour earlier. When she had mentioned that she like Jake he seemed to tense up immediately and he quickly left. Gabriella didn't know why. She knew that Troy and Jake weren't really friends but Troy had no reason to dislike Jake at all. Suddenly Gabriella's eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. Was Troy jealous of Jake? Was he jealous of Gabriella and Jake's friendship? Gabriella shook her head again. She knew Troy wasn't jealous. He had no reason to be. She sighed and turned off her iPod once the song ended. She'd ask him tomorrow what the problem was. She climbed into bed and turned off the light, still thinking about Troy.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Troy sighed and slammed his locker shut. Since leaving Gabriella's house yesterday Troy had been in the worst mood that he'd ever been in. When he had returned home his mother and father suffered because of this bad mood. All through dinner Troy ignored them as he played with the food on his plate. Finally when his mother asked him a question about his day Troy had blown up at them, telling them to just leave him alone. The rest of the evening Troy sulked in his room, not bothering to do his homework, not that he would have been able to concentrate.

His mind kept replaying the moment when Gabriella told him she liked Jake, over and over again. Troy couldn't understand it. He flirted with Gabriella all the time, sometimes by accident and yet she still didn't realise that he had feelings for her. Yet, Jake, who had only been in the school three weeks, tells her she looks pretty one day and all of a sudden Gabriella's into him.

Troy hadn't slept properly either, which didn't help his mood the next morning, which seemed to have gotten worse. He didn't bother with breakfast and quickly showered, grabbed his bag and stormed out of the house, not waiting for his dad to give him a ride to school. He needed the fresh air anyway.

When he arrived in school, everyone immediately moved towards him and surrounded him like he was some sort of magnet. Usually Troy just let them and smiled every now and then, despite hating the attention, but this morning Troy was in no mood to plaster a fake smile on his face as another member of the cheerleading squad threw herself at him, hoping that he would ask her out. Instead Troy told everyone to leave him alone. He rolled his eyes as he saw everyone's eyes widen in shock at his sudden outburst.

Troy rolled his eyes again as he slammed his locker closed. Sometimes he just wished he were invisible so he wouldn't have to deal with everyone and everything; school, homework, teachers, friends, basketball, his dad and family. The only person not on the list was Gabriella even though he was hoping to avoid her today after he basically ran out of her house the previous evening after hearing about her crush on Jake. He knew Gabriella would ask him what's wrong and he didn't want to lie to her again and make up some lame excuse about his parents wanting him home or having a bad headache. Troy knew he should really tell her the truth but now it was too late. Now she had Jake to call late at night when she couldn't sleep. Now she could go for a late night walk in the park with Jake. Jake could comfort her when she was feeling lonely because her mom was out of town. Jake and Gabriella could find their own song. Troy felt his heart sink as he thought of Jake and Gabriella having their own song.

Troy walked into his homeroom, ignoring the people whispering and pointing at him as he went by. He sighed and fell into his seat, hoping Gabriella wouldn't arrive until the bell rang so she wouldn't have a proper chance to talk to him as they sat together in this class. Troy ran and hand through his hair and closed his eyes, trying to take his mind off Gabriella. It seemed like she was everywhere and it drove Troy crazy because he knew he could never have her. Now if she did go out with Jake, Troy could never hold her close to him without feeling guilty. After all, Jake would be the one to do that.

Troy opened his eyes and jumped when he noticed Gabriella was sitting next to him. _God, she really is everywhere._ He swallowed hard and turned to her. "Hey," he said, quietly.

"Hi Troy," she replied, frowning slightly. Troy groaned silently. She knew something was up with him already even though he'd only spoken one word. Usually Troy would greet her by hugging her and surprising her or in a way that other friends never did but today was different. Today, Troy no longer looked at her as his Brie. As selfish as it had been, Troy had always thought of her as his and he knew he was hers. He had been hers for a long time now. But now she belonged to someone else, well at least her heart did and Troy could feel his own heart break at that thought.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently, looking concerned. Troy nodded and grinned.

"Never better," he lied, hoping she would believe him. Gabriella's brow furrowed.

"Troy, I'm your best friend. I know when you are lying. Come on tell me what's wrong. You practically ran out of the library last night and today you don't seem as happy to see me," Gabriella said, speaking the last part very quietly, though Troy heard and his eyes immediately widened.

"Brie of course I'm happy to see you. You light up my day. Sometimes when I don't want to come to school...when it all seems too much I think of you and that's reason enough to come and drag my lazy ass out of bed in the morning. So don't for a second think I'm not happy to see you," Troy said, gazing into her chocolate brown orbs.

Gabriella nodded and quickly looked away from Troy's eyes as she found herself getting lost in them like she did countless times each day. She looked down quickly to where Troy's hand was softly holding hers and she felt her spine tingle at his touch. Troy immediately followed her gaze and quickly let go.

"Uh...so-sorry about that," he stuttered, turning a deep shade of red. Gabriella just shook her head.

"So why are you upset?" she asked. Before Troy could think of a reply the bell rang and their classmates came piling in the door followed by Ms. Darbus. Troy turned back into his seat as did Gabriella and silently thanked God that the bell rang when it did.

Meanwhile Gabriella was frowning and trying to figure out why Troy was so mad or upset and why he seemed so determined not to tell her. Suddenly her thoughts turned to how she felt when Troy had touched her hand. She felt as though her skin was on fire as he lightly touched her and the hairs on the back of her neck stood up but she didn't know why she was feeling like that. It was only Troy, her best friend for years who she had been through everything with. She was closer to him than she was to any of her other friends and closer to him than her mother because she was away so much but why did his touch make her feel like she was going to faint? She quickly shook the thought out of her mind and tried to turn her attention to Ms. Darbus as she probed the mounting evils of cell phones.

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Hope you enjoyed it. I love throwing in little hints of Troyella here and there, it keeps the story moving along so expect loads more little moments between them in the next few chapters! I really hope you liked it and please review!! I'll post another chapter within the next week!! Thanks guys!!


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